The invention relates to a handle for athletic equipment, such as, for example, tennis rackets, golf clubs, dumbbells or the like. For the sake of simplicity, reference is always made hereinafter to tennis rackets. However, these tennis rackets are intended to be merely representative of all athletic equipment guided by hand in which a manual force is exerted on the equipment.
Present-day tennis rackets or the like are usually brought onto the market with a handle made of wood or plastic which has an octagonal cross section. Such handles permit a secure grip on the racket and additionally permit rotation of the racket during play depending on the direction of play. However, during longer play, these handles have the drawback that they highly stress the gripping hand and thus result in increased perspiration and callus formation. To prevent this, many players are known to wrap the handle with suitable straps, usually leather straps, so as to round its edges and make the surface of the handle more skin friendly.
However, experience with such handles has shown that, although it is possible in this way to realize a certain improvement, the handle leaves much to be desired.